FATHER'S DAY BUCKETS

Give one o f these buckets to your Dad for Father's Day, June 21st. Each bucket / basket cost $60.00  Your purchase will not just be blessing your father but helping others, for all money raised supports United Methodist Women's missions.

SOLD Lowe's Bucket contains $25 Lowe's Gift card, 2 pairs multipurpose gloves, duct tape, heavy duty clamps, 2 packages of rope, electrical tape, adjustable wrench, liquid nails, clear tape, retractable knife, 10 pack shop towels SOLD

 Home Depot Bucket contains Turtle Wax Complete Kit, wash mitt, cleaning cloth, bungie cords,  2 rolls of duct tape. 2 packages of rope, 1 pair of gloves, paint scraper, W-D 40, 3 Pk. drop clothes, Armor all cleaning sponge, 4 pk. multi-purpose towels, washing machine discharge hose.

  SOLD Walmart Bucket contains LED flashlight with batteries, 2 pairs Nitrile gloves, 3 rolls of painters tape ( 1  1/2 " and 2 "), paint scraper, paint roller, 2 sanding sponges, plastic level, padlock, Stanley tape ruler, 6 in 1 screwdriver, 2 drop cloths, pk. 6  protective masks, multifunction power tool SOLD

SOLD Barbecue Basket contains 4 $8 Arby's gift cards, assorted spices, grilling book, Gator devotional book, pork and beans, mustard and ketchup, measuring cup, mild and hot dispensers, hot mitt, tablecloth and napkins, bag of charcoal.  SOLD

Call Carol at 732-604-2874 to purchase the one you want. Remember they are one of a kind buckets and once someone buys one it will be marked sold.
 You will be able to pick up your bucket at 11 o'clock on June 16th at the church office parking lot.  Please make your check out to UMW.                
                            HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

WELL OF HOPE

The beginning of March the Mission selection team of Clermont United Methodist Women visited Well of Hope in Southern Clermont near Cagan Crossing.  They expressed a need to have a wall built to divide the thrift store, giving more room to their food bank. 

During the pandemic the thrift store was closed, but the food bank was opened. During the remodeling of the store there were bins with clothing and other items from the thrift store out front.  People could fill a bag for free.

Dottie Mathias husband, Larry offered to put in the wall.

 Wall framed.

A door put into the back wall.

Drywall installed.

Mudded, sanded, and

painted.

The window where clients will pick up there food.

In a week the project was completed.

Food moved into the room.

Shelves were built to hold the food.

Refrigerators and freezers were moved in and filled.

 On Thursday Pastor Michael sent us a report on the food drop they had that day. 370 families, 2139 adults,468 children were helped. Most of them were from this area with some from Clermont, Davenport and Celebration.  Pastor Michael was very thankful for the support and prayers.

 The thrift store should be operational in June. If you have any extra furniture and want a place to donate it Well of Hope would be glad to have it for their thrift store.

MOTHER'S DAY BASKETS

Mother's Day is fast approaching and our UMW has beautiful baskets for you to purchase for your mother. Have your husband take a look and let them purchase one for you! These will sell fast, so don't delay and call right away. The first person Barb receives a call from wanting one of the basket will be the winner of that basket.  It will then be marked sold. THEY HAVE BEEN SOLD
Basket # 1  Delicious Dessert Basket can be purchased for $45.00. It may look smaller than basket #2 but is much heavier. This basket contains the following :
                                             Delicious desserts recipe book
                                             Ferrero Roche Hazelnut Chocolate
               SOLD                     Dove Bar Chocolate
                                             Lindt Lindor Asst'd Truffles
                                             Milk Chocolate pieces
                                             Triple Chocolate Biscotti
                                             Chocolate Whipped Honey
                                             Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix in Cast Iron Skillet
                                             2 Drinking Chocolates
                                             No Sugar Dark Chocolate Bar
                                             2 Pks Truffles

Basket #2 Chocolate, Chocolate can be purchased for $40. This basket contains:
                                             $ 10 Starbucks Gift Card
                                             Girl Scout Peanut Butter Patties
               SOLD                     Benton's Lemon Dunkers                         SOLD
                                             Russell Stover Asst'd  Chocolates
                                             Sherwood Truffles
                                             Lindor Milk Chocolate Truffle Bar
                                             Godiva Coffee Chocolate Truffle
                                             Chocolate Sign
                                             Mug
                                             Ghirardelli Chocolate Squares
                                             Nestle Cookie Mix/Skillet

If you would like to purchase one of these baskets please call Barb Reed at 352-241-4791 (landline) or 352-223-9339 (cell). Barb and Rich will deliver the basket to your door. You can pay for it when it is delivered  If you prefer not making contact with anyone you can mail your check to Ann Vogt at 2850 Captiva Street, Clermont, Florida 34711. Checks should be made payable to UMW. Besides getting a beautiful gift to give to your love one the money helps supports UMW mission work.
 Thank you and God Bless.
Happy Mother's Day and remember your mom on May 10th.

LUNCHEON BLESSINGS

Swinging into the Twenties Spring Luncheon and Fashion Show was cancelled for March 21 due to state orders of no large gatherings to help stop the spread of the COVID-19. In spite of the cancellation of the luncheon and offer to return  money to those who asked, we had $10,000 to give to  our two missions. Almost 90% of those who were planning on attending the luncheon did not ask for a refund and allowed contribution to be used for missions. 

Here is a list of sponsors who generously did not ask for a refund, which added $3,000 to the Luncheon funds: The Brunswick Group, Michael Rose and Randy Jones, Trilogy Faith Neighborhood Center Volunteers, Perry Specialty Products, Tim and Nancy Srodes, Village Goldsmith, Patrick Smith Esq.,Opal McClanahan, Reed Financial Service, Orlando Health/South Lake Hospital, Clermont Brewing Company, McLean Family, Napleton Clermont Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram, Brenda Longenbach, Pittman Jewelers, Weber Construction, Antony's Lawn Management,LLC, Dr Darrell Alford,DMD, Alyse Taylor, Betty Johnson, Perry Products. 

Diane Wells and Barbara Reed presented LovExtention  a check for $2,000. Glad to see they are wearing mask as we are now asked to do when out in Public.

 It is hard to tell who is behind the mask. It is not Barbara with Diane but Cathy Dheron giving the check to Linda Krupski, Executive Director for LovExtention. Thanks for the correction.

Diane presented Trish Kry at Faith Neighborhood  $8,000.  She was so very, very thankful for donations are down and the needs are increasing. On April 3 they feed 376 families and 128 more on April 8.
 Thanks to everyone's generous giving and kind hearts for helping to support these missions even though the luncheon was cancelled.  God's blessings.

WORLD DAY OF PRAYER

63 people from several churches in the area attended the World Day of Prayer. This year the women of the World Day of  Prayer committee of Zimbabwe call us to worship with the words: "Rise! Take your mat and walk" from John 5

She  "interrupted" the program to read us a letter from our sisters in Zimbabwe. The letter taught us about Zimbabwe and its rich culture. Zimbabwe means house of stone. It is a country in southern Africa. In years past it was known as Rhodesia. British rule for many years, until 1980, when it got it Independence. For 39 years the same person was head of Zimbabwe until he died at the age of 93. Since then there has been much political tension. Education is free but not available in rural areas. Poverty, HIV,  and absences of men because of looking for work causes many problems.

Ruby Allen sang "Precious Lord Take My Hand"

John 5 : 2-9 was acted out. Carolyn was the man sitting at the pool for many years.

Karen read the scripture.

One came with a broken arm and was healed while Carolyn asked for help.

The blind man was healed, Carolyn begged for help.

A crippled man was healed, and Carolyn still sat by the pool.

Then Jesus came and asked if she wanted to be healed. 

He told her to Rise and take your mat and walk. 

We then discussed with our neighbor. What is the context in which you or your community lives that needs to hear Jesus' life changing question"Do you want to be made well?" What are the obstacles or excuses that are not allowing for transformation? What does "Rise! Take your mat and walk" mean in your context? Our sisters in Zimbabwe are taking Jesus' encounter to be a call to act in love for peace and reconciliation. God is offering us the steps for personal and social transformation. This is a time for change.

We thank these ladies for the parts they took in presenting the program today.

 Celeste in her African garb. It is nice so many women from FUMC attended and took part in the program.

SPECIAL MISSION RECOGNITION RECIPIENTS 2020

Monday night, March 2,  the church had a very nice Volunteer Appreciation Dinner.  Close to 250 people attended.

A game to get to know each other was played before dinner. Pastor Doug welcomed everyone.

 Pastor Chris said some words of thanks for all the volunteer that helps make our church amazing.

 We then had to match an item or picture to a volunteer position that would use that item: A tongue depresser? a Christmas tree?  an easel flip chart ?  There are 33 volunteer positions.   It shows there are lots of ways to serve, and it takes a lot of people.

Pastor Dawn introduced Celeste, President of our UMW.  Celeste announced the five recipients of Special Mission Recognition Pins for 2020.

 These pin represent a monetary gift to United Methodist Women National Division to support the global missions of the United Methodist Women Organization. The recipients were nominated by members of our unit and circles within the last few months. After prayerful consideration, these five people were selected to receive these pins using the following criteria. The recipients attends FUMC and contributes special services to the church. The person should exhibit special service in the community and exemplify the United Methodist Women's Purpose within our Unit and Faith Community.

Celeste pinned on each recipient's pin.

 From left to right is Celeste and Diane, who was head of the nominating committee. The five recipients are:
  Sue Friend had been a long time member of Lunch Bunch Circle and currently a member of the newly formed  Circle of Grace. She has a heart for missions, doing mission outreach through our Church and Unit of United Methodist Women. She has been a member of the Church's Mission Committee for many years. She is the liaison with Find, Feed and Restore Ministry. Sue and her husband have shopped for and delivered food for new clients moving into a trailer.The funds for the food are provided by the local mission outreach of our UMW unit.  Sue is one of the original members of the weekend backpack program for at risk children in South Lake County, the program now called Feed the Children of South Lake, She is one of the drivers to deliver hot meals for Meals on Wheels Program. This year she helped organize the Gingerbread House gift program for referred families in this church and community. Sue's heart and eyes are always open to needs in the community and finding a way to help.
Cindy Saunders  is an active member of the Lunch Bunch Circle where she has presented devotions and programs. She has the gift of teaching and making others feel welcomed and loved.  She is the teacher in the Searchers Adult Sunday School Class. With her commitment and caring Searchers Class has been growing and is a place where members and guests feel love in action and a family like connection. She is a member of Kings Daughters Bible Study and has filled in as leader when needed. She has lead numerous other Bible Study Classes. Cindy is an encourager and nudges people to get involved in the Church and community.
Judy Stambaugh is a long time member of United Methodist Women and devoted member of Morning Joy Circle. She reminds everyone about meetings and often does devotions. She donates supplies for local mission projects with South Lake Head Start. Judy is a member of the Searchers Sunday School class, Grace and Grief Committee, and Kings Daughters Bible Study. She loves to sew and makes red fleece Christmas stockings for the babies born in December at South Lake Hospital, makes items for the Holiday Bazaar, and does lots of sewing for Days for Girls. If you need a ride Judy is always willing to drive. Her love of thrift store shopping helps many with warm blankets she has found, washed and given away. She truly does what Jesus commanded "To love your neighbor as you love yourself."
Dottie Mathias is a member of Circle of  Grace. She is an active member and is willing to present a monthly program. devotion or book review.  Two years ago she assumed the new office of Communications Coordinator with our Unit of United Methodist Women and has developed a blog. The blog shows pictures and news of members participating in local meetings, East Central District and FL Conference UMW events. Dottie helps with Grace and Grief Committee,Vacation Bible School, Celebrate Recovery Ministry, Days for Girls, and the Friends and Fellowship Sunday School Class. Dottie and her husband work as NOMADS Mission Volunteers, a  Global Ministry of the Methodist Church. They are Project Coordinators for all the  NOMADS volunteers working at churches, camps, and Children"s Homes in Florida.
Laura Stokes Henry has attended FUMC since 1996. Laura has a rich history connection to South Lake County. Her grandparent's Harry and Laura Stokes moved to this area in 1888.  Her Grandfather was a 5-term elected official, bank president and is honored at South Lake Hospital as being a driving force bringing the hospital to the area. Her grandmother was the first postmistress of the Town of Mohawk which is now a part of Minneola.  Laura taught Sunday School and served on the FUMC  Missions Committee for many years. At FUMC she met Vic and Phyllis Hutcheson, They were looking for a way to support South Lake County citizens as they cope with the emotional and financial aspects of dealing with cancer. The Greater Clermont Cancer Foundation (GCCF) became a reality 16 years ago when it became a nonprofit, federal tax exempt 501 (c) (3) with Laura serving as a Board Director and Officer.  In 2016 Laura stepped up and assumed the responsibilities of Foundation President.  GCCF continues to be a 100% volunteer organization. Laura has experienced the invasion of cancer in her own family with cancer taking the lives of her father, grandfather, and grandmother. At the the age of eleven. her oldest daughter was diagnosed with a form of leukemia. Prayers were answered when after extensive treatment, Alden was declared cancer free. Laura's compassion, dedication and commitment to serving and making a difference in the lives of the cancer patients and their families is beyond compare.

ANOINTED COMMUNITY NEEDS

 Anointed Community was in need of a van to help with serving the youth and families in the area. They were given a van but some costly repairs were needed. Our unit gave them money to get the van up and running. As you can see by Linda's smile this van will be a great help and makes her very happy

 With other funds our unit provided allowed for them to buy a small freezer. Food that is on sale and more foods that need freezing can now be purchased.

The rest of the money was used for a cabinet to store donated items so they can be kept secure. The cabinet is being put together.  Money that we raise from the Spring Luncheon and the Holiday Bazaar allows our unit to help Anointed Community  and other agencies when they need it. What a blessing.